Adelaide Crow Danielle Ponter selected in All Australian team

Darwin superstar and St Mary’s product Danielle Ponter has etched herself among the code’s best, earning her first All Australian team selection.

(Middle Row) Danielle Ponter of the Crows in the 2023 All Australian Team photo. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

Danielle Ponter’s father couldn’t wait another second to call her when she was up for an AFLW accolade, only to discover she was on stage at that very moment to receive her All Australian nod.

It was the 23-year-old forward’s first selection into the team after she scored 16 goals for the Adelaide Crows during their minor premiership run.

But even then, she expected her goal of the year nomination to be her more likely selection on the night, when she nailed an unlikely bouncer from centre square against Richmond.

Her nomination was also a shock for her father, currently in England, who rang her as soon as he could.

“My Dad called me halfway through the ceremony, and I’m not even sure he knew I was even there at the time,” Ponter said.

“I think he might’ve seen it on social media and thought ‘I better call her’.

“And I said to him, ‘I’m actually sitting in the room right now, surely you can hear the presenter in the background. It just happened’, he was probably just as surprised as me.

“But he settled down and told me how proud he was of me and congratulated me.

“I’ve had a lot of messages from family and friends congratulating me which has been really nice and I appreciate it.”

Danielle Ponter of the Crows looks on during the 2023 AFLW Second Preliminary Final match between The North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos and The Adelaide Crows. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

The full-forward, who scored three times in the prelim final loss, wasn’t anticipating the call up, heading into the night with her bets hedged on goal of the year.

“I was just happy to have even been selected in the squad,” she said.

“It was a massive surprise for me, and I'm obviously very happy to have been named.

“I actually went into the night thinking that my main chance was with the goal of the year.

“But to end up being named in an All Australian Team, I’ll take that over a goal any bloody day.

“And the goal definitely wasn’t a fluke, but it’ll probably never happen again.”

Ponter pointed to a change to the midfield as a catalyst in her self-proclaimed best season to date.

“Playing through the middle has been a massive step for me, and it’s a position that I want to keep playing in and retain,” she said.

“It’s been my best season to date, and that’s from me having the opportunity to run through the midfield.

Danielle Ponter of the Crows celebrates a goal during the 2023 AFLW Second Preliminary Final match against The North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos. Picture: Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

“I got more exposure up the ground and more ball which meant I was able to finish off more goals.”

The honour was a nice distraction for the young Crow who is now heading into the off-season sooner than expected.

“It was obviously disappointing,” she said after crashing out in the prelims .

“It was really hard and especially after we’ve been playing such great footy all season, we should be playing the grand final.

“But on the day we weren’t able to put together our best game against a quality side full of great players, and that’s finals footy.

“It’s unfortunate for us but North Melbourne deserves to be in the final and I wish them luck.”